Latest news with #bonuspoints
Forbes
14-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
How Quickly Can You Earn Chase's 100k Welcome Bonus? Faster Than You'd Think!
There's a huge bonus for new cardholders available on the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card: Earn 100,000 bonus points after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening. If you've been considering applying, Chase announced that Thursday, May 15, at 9 a.m. EST, is the last day to apply for the 100,000-point welcome offer on the Sapphire Preferred via the application link on our website. Are you looking for an award right away? If so, you'll need those points to post as quickly as possible. How long will it take you to access your Sapphire Preferred bonus? Get the timeline, tips to speed it up and strategies to maximize this massive travel rewards offer. Earn 100,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account ... More opening. Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card - See Rates & Fees To earn the current Sapphire Preferred offer, you'll be time-bound to meet the minimum spending requirements. Specifically, you'll need to complete your total spending in the first three months after being approved for the card. That includes an important distinction: The clock starts ticking the day you're approved, even though you won't receive the actual card in the mail for another week. One other thing to keep in mind is that transactions don't always post to your credit card account the day you make them—there can be a lag of a few days. This is especially true with online shopping. Many retailers won't charge your card until the order is fully processed and the item is shipped, regardless of when you placed the order. Because of this, it's best to finish your spending a week or two in advance, just in case something gets held up. Bonus Chase Ultimate Rewards® are issued in a lump sum once you've hit the full spending amount—there's no way to get some of the points in advance, even if you've completed 99% of the spending. Officially, Chase Bank states that customers will receive their welcome bonus points six to eight weeks after completing their qualifying spending. Unofficially, though, it could be faster. Chase typically deposits all pending Ultimate Rewards points into your rewards account on the date your credit card statement closes. So, once you've completed your minimum spending requirement, you could see your bonus as early as your next statement closing date, which should be within the next 30 days. If eight weeks have passed and you haven't yet received your bonus, you can follow up with Chase to see if there was a reason for the delay. However, most bonuses post automatically. Once the bonus points are credited to your account, you are free to redeem them however you wish. The speed at which you receive your credit card bonus is impacted by a number of factors, including: If you have a redemption in mind for your expected bonus, you might be motivated to earn those points as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, you can't speed up Chase's standard backend operations to access your bonus points sooner, but there are a few things you can do to hit your spending requirement quickly and get the process started. Pro Tip: Although meeting the full spending requirement in a short amount of time is a fast way to earn your credit card bonus, be sure not to charge more than you can pay off by your bill date. There's no introductory APR on the Sapphire Preferred, so standard interest rates will apply immediately. The promise of 100,000 Ultimate Rewards could be burning a hole in your pocket, but the Sapphire Preferred's bonus won't be available immediately. You'll need to meet the minimum spending first and then wait for Chase to credit the points to your account, which is a process that could take several months even in a best-case scenario, though there are a few steps you can take to help this happen as quickly as possible. Information provided on Forbes Advisor is for educational purposes only. Your financial situation is unique and the products and services we review may not be right for your circumstances. We do not offer financial advice, advisory or brokerage services, nor do we recommend or advise individuals or to buy or sell particular stocks or securities. Performance information may have changed since the time of publication. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Forbes Advisor adheres to strict editorial integrity standards. To the best of our knowledge, all content is accurate as of the date posted, though offers contained herein may no longer be available. The opinions expressed are the author's alone and have not been provided, approved, or otherwise endorsed by our partners.
Irish Times
13-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
Why bonus points may not be all that useful in deciding rugby competitions
The business end of the rugby season has arrived and the English Premiership and United Rugby Championship tables, as ever, are being carefully scrutinised. Two from Bristol, Sale and Saracens are now vying to make the Premiership playoffs with two games left while the race for the URC top eight will boil down to the final weekend. At which point some know-all will intone the well-worn mantra: bonus points will be crucial. And we'll all nod solemnly and start contemplating how Team X or Team Y can best set about scoring either four tries or losing by seven points or fewer. Without necessarily stopping to think whether the cold, hard mathematics support that supposition – or indeed ever have done. If you go and consult Dr Ellie Nesbitt, a senior lecturer in sports management at Nottingham Trent University, a very different picture emerges. Having crunched the Premiership numbers for the past 25 years, she found bonus points made a major difference to – wait for it – just 2.28 per cent of team positions in the 24 seasons in which they have previously featured. 'Bonus points are not quite irrelevant but they're definitely not making the impact they were probably designed to do,' she says. Hang on. That hard-earned losing away point in the rain at Sale? That valiant fourth try in the dying seconds against Bath? It turns out they barely count in the wider scheme of things. Nesbitt discovered that a whopping 92 per cent of Premiership league placings were totally unaffected by their inclusion. READ MORE No fewer than 10 of those aforementioned 24 Premiership seasons would have ended up with precisely the same league table had bonus points not been included. And in the 8 per cent of occasions where teams would have finished in another position, it still made little material difference in terms of playoff or Champions Cup qualification. Which, for the curious-minded Nesbitt, prompts wider questions. Hailing from a football background, she only became interested in rugby union because her partner was playing at Burton RFC. Watching his team constantly looking for bonus points set her analytical brain whirring. 'Even in their league they chase them. But then I looked at the data and told them: 'It didn't make any difference.' I take the caveat that it potentially creates more of a spectacle but at the end of a season the difference is so marginal. So then you start to question it. 'What is the point of all of this? Is it time for a refresh?' For me it warrants a look at the effectiveness of bonus points. But no one in rugby union seems to be bothered that they're not making an impact.' It is a fair cop. Take Sale who have claimed only nine bonus points – the second-lowest in the league – and still sit in the top four. What will almost certainly determine their final placing in relation to the Bears, as ever, will be their respective number of wins. It is more than possible the Sharks will finish ahead of Bristol with seven fewer bonus points. So much for attacking rugby paying extra dividends. But let's open our minds up beyond decimal points. Nesbitt's research around competitive balance, incorporated last year into the Leonard Curtis financial report on English club rugby, invites us to contemplate a landscape totally free of such added complications. What if even the slightly tweaked French system – a bonus point for scoring at least three more tries than the opposition – is a hareng rouge? Because what if the extra layer of complexity, rather than enticing more people to enjoy the sport, is actively diluting rugby union's popularity? 'It's weird to me that bonus points only really exist in rugby,' says Nesbitt, suggesting football's relative simplicity is not an insignificant part of its appeal. 'Rugby has so many layers that it's difficult to get into. And when something is difficult to get into – whether that's sport, music or history – people switch off. I don't think rugby has helped itself over the years.' She also wonders aloud if playoff semi-finals represent another well-intentioned idea that might have had its day. The team finishing either first or second in the regular season has gone on to win the Premiership 20 times out of the past 22 editions. Nesbitt's logical academic brain tells her it would be much simpler to save everyone a ton of hassle and just stage a final between the top two sides. Looking further ahead, she argues, the league also needs to work out who, exactly, it is trying to please. At present, amid plans to launch a franchise Premiership model in autumn 2026, she suggests it is being hampered by blurred vision. 'The reason why a franchise system works in America is because they also have the draft and a salary cap. Rugby union seems to have this half European, half American approach but it doesn't seem to work for them either way.' Rather than using bonus points as a comfort blanket, accordingly, her analysis points to a more equitable spread of talent and spending power across the league as being more important. 'The issue with rugby union is that the same patterns occur each year because no changes are made. What are your motivations? What do you want from the league? 'If they want to make it a spectacle and make people excited about rugby, I have no doubt the franchise approach could do that. But it is not necessarily going to fix all their problems.' Plenty for us all to ponder, whether you love bonus points or not, before this season's final push. – Guardian
Forbes
07-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Explore America Like Never Before—The Best Domestic Flights You Can Book With 100k Chase Points
The ever-popular Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is currently offering the best welcome bonus we've ever seen: Earn 100,000 bonus points after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening. There are several ways to redeem those 100,000 points for tremendous value, with some favorite redemptions including transferring points to World of Hyatt for free hotel nights or to airline partners for international flights in business class. One thing you won't hear suggested often is using Chase points to book domestic flights, but that doesn't mean there aren't worthwhile options. Here are four standout domestic flights offering premium experiences you can book with Chase Ultimate Rewards®, plus tips for finding the cheapest flights when affordability is your main concern. Earn 100,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account ... More opening. Forbes Advisor Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card - See Rates & Fees While upgrading to a premium cabin can make a massive difference in your flight experience on international routes, lie-flat seats and other luxury perks are rarely offered on domestic flights. However, airlines make a few exceptions for long routes that cross the continent or, in the case of Hawaii, cross an ocean. A coast-to-coast flight or a trip to Hawaii can take nearly as long or longer than a flight to Europe from the East Coast. Using the Ultimate Rewards points from your Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card welcome bonus to gain a more comfortable experience during a lengthier domestic flight can be a satisfying redemption. 1. United Airlines Transcontinental Flight in Premium Plus or United Business—Starting at 30K Points United Premium Plus is an elevated cabin experience available on some international flights that falls between economy and first class. It provides an impressive number of benefits, such as: Free meals, alcoholic and nonalcoholic drinks, snacks and dessert Bigger seats, plus extra legroom and footrest Priority check-in, security lane and boarding Priority bag handling to get your luggage sooner after your flight As mentioned, Premium Plus isn't typically offered on domestic flights. In fact, United's own table comparing its seating options expressly says that it's only available on international flights. Screenshot of United seating options with 'United Premium Plus' listed as 'International only'. Forbes Advisor But that's not technically true. United actually offers a 'premium transatlantic experience' on two routes: New York (EWR)/Los Angeles (LAX) New York (JFK)/San Francisco (SFO) Try to book one of these flights, and you may notice that under the 'Premium Economy' column, you'll see that what you're actually getting is a 'Premium Plus' seat, as shown in the screenshot below. Screenshot of an EWR to LAX flight from United, showing United Premium Plus as a cabin option. Forbes Advisor If you really want to splurge, you can even snag a lie-flat seat in United Business on these routes. It will cost you more—in our example, the United Business seat costs 74,400 miles—but it could be worth it if you want to take a nap during your flight without getting a crick in your neck. Just make sure you confirm that the business-class ticket you're considering includes a lie-flat seat by expanding the 'Seats' box. Lie-flat seats look like a bed on the seating chart rather than the typical square. Screenshot of an American Airlines seating chart that shows the long, blue rectangle icons ... More representing lie-flat seats. Forbes Advisor 2. American Airlines Premium Economy Ticket to Hawaii—41K Points Similar to United, American Airlines generally reserves its Premium Economy cabin for international routes, but it makes an exception for some flights to Hawaii and Alaska. Up until now, most eligible flights to Hawaii have been from Dallas (DFW), but American recently added routes from Chicago (ORD). Benefits of Premium Economy include: Chef-inspired meal and complimentary beer, wine and spirits Priority privileges at security, check-in and boarding Wider seats Amenity kit and premium bedding While American Airlines isn't a direct transfer partner of Chase Ultimate Rewards, you can still book these flights using Chase points by transferring them to American's partner airline, British Airways. That's because British Airways and American are both members of the Oneworld airline alliance. This means you can use Avios (British Airways' points currency) to book eligible American Airlines flights directly on the British Airways website. It's a handy workaround that opens up more flight options when redeeming your Chase points. Award availability can be limited, especially for these Premium Economy tickets to Hawaii. But with persistence, you can find them. For example, I was able to find two seats on a Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) to Honolulu (HNL) flight. Screenshot of British Airways' booking engine showing an American Airlines flight from DFW to HNL ... More with Premium Economy availability. Forbes Advisor The Premium Economy ticket above costs just 41,250 Avios plus $5.60 in taxes and fees, which is an attractive deal for the extra benefits you'd get on this eight-hour flight. Screenshot of the selected flight showing a cost of 41,250 Avios + $5.60. Forbes Advisor Note that American also offers its even more luxurious Flagship Business-cabin experience on these Hawaii routes, which includes lie-flat seats. Unfortunately, it's notoriously difficult to find award availability for these seats 3. Delta Air Lines Premium Select Flight From New York (JFK) to Los Angeles (LAX) Through Virgin Atlantic—46K Points Although Delta isn't a direct Chase transfer partner, you can still book Delta flights using Chase points by transferring them to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club. Like United and American, Delta typically reserves its premium cabin experience—called Premium Select—for international routes. However, in September 2024, Delta launched Premium Select service on four of its 11 daily peak-day flights between New York (JFK) and Los Angeles (LAX). Premium Select perks include: Additional legroom, an adjustable leg rest and footrest and deeper recline Sky Priority® service, including accelerated check-in, security and baggage handling Elevated meal service with complimentary wine, beer and spirits Premium amenity kit with self-care essentials Memory-foam pillow, plush blanket and noise-canceling headphones Virgin Atlantic uses a distance-based award chart for Delta redemptions. Flights from New York to Los Angeles fall into the 2,001 to 3,000-mile range, which costs 46,000 Virgin Points in Premium Select, as you can see in the screenshot from our test search. Screenshot of Virgin Atlantic's booking engine showing a Delta Air Lines flight from JFK to LAX with ... More Premium Select availability. Forbes Advisor For comparison, that same seat is currently priced at 63,000 SkyMiles on Delta's site, making booking through Virgin the much better option for booking this Delta seat. Screenshot of Delta Air Lines' booking engine showing the identical flight and cabin for 63,000 ... More SkyMiles. Forbes Advisor It's worth noting that Virgin's award chart offers solid value across a range of Delta-operated flights. For instance, shorter Delta flights can be booked for as few as 7,500 Virgin Points in the main cabin. Screenshot of British Airways' booking engine showing a Delta Air Lines flight from ATL to MCO with ... More a price of 7,500 points. Forbes Advisor This is a smart way to stretch your Chase points for short and cheap domestic trips. It's worth noting, too, that Virgin's award chart for Delta applies to all routes outside of Europe and the U.K., so you could also find affordable prices for shorter flights to Latin America or the Caribbean. 4. JetBlue Coast-to-Coast Flight in Mint—Starting Around 75K Points JetBlue Mint is the airline's premium cabin experience, available on select routes. It offers a luxurious flying experience that rivals international business class, making it a standout option for domestic travelers looking to fly in comfort and style. A few of Mint's many benefits include: Lie-flat seats built with Tuft & Needle's T&N Adaptive® Foam cushions Small-plate dining curated by NYC restaurants Complimentary cocktails from Delicious Hospitality, shaken on board Amenity kits and plush bedding Priority boarding and security access In addition to all transatlantic flights, Mint is available on select Caribbean and coast-to-coast routes. To see if your destination is eligible, check JetBlue's Mint route map. If you have an upcoming coast-to-coast flight on one of these routes, using your Chase Ultimate Rewards points to book a JetBlue Mint seat can significantly elevate your experience. Unfortunately, JetBlue's points system is closer to a fixed-value model, making it tough to find 'sweet spots' for redemptions. Mint tickets aren't cheap either. But we were able to find tickets from JFK to SFO starting at 75,400 points. Screenshot of JetBlue's booking engine showing a flight from JFK to SFO with Mint availability for ... More 75,400 points. Forbes Advisor While that's a sizable chunk of Ultimate Rewards to transfer to JetBlue, the 'Mint Experience' is hard to beat for flights between U.S. destinations. And while 75,000 points was the lowest we found, it's not a hard-and-fast floor. You may be able to score an even better deal depending on your route and travel dates. It's also worth checking Chase Travel℠'s Mint pricing. One of the lesser-appreciated benefits of the Chase Sapphire Preferred is the 25% bonus you get when redeeming points through Chase Travel—meaning each point is worth 1.25 cents. While we've found that you'll usually get a higher value than that by booking an economy seat through JetBlue, its Mint award pricing tends to have more variety. We've seen the value dip below 1.25 cents, at which point you may want to consider booking with Chase Travel instead. Just Want the Cheapest Flight? Here Are 3 Tips To Stretch Your 100K Chase Points 1. Make Comparison Shopping a Breeze With Award-Searching Tools Finding the best deal on award flights can be time-consuming, especially when you're juggling different airline partners and point transfer options. That's where award finder tools like PointsYeah, AwardTool and come in. These search engines make it easy to compare flight availability and prices across multiple programs, all in one place. I particularly like PointsYeah because it allows you to filter results by airline, cabin class and even specific bank rewards programs (in this case, Chase Ultimate Rewards). Screenshot of PointsYeah's search engine with 'Chase Ultimate Rewards' selected inside the 'Bank ... More Programs' filter. Forbes Advisor Instead of checking each airline's site individually, these tools let you quickly pinpoint which flights offer the best bang for your points. That can save you both time and points on your next redemption. 2. Use Southwest's Low Fare Calendar To Find Affordable Dates Southwest uses a fixed-value system for its Rapid Rewards points, meaning the number of points needed for a flight is directly tied to the cash price. Still, if you have flexibility in your plans, you could score a great deal by choosing a date when the fare for your desired flight is below average. An easy way to find these dates is to use Southwest's Low Fare Calendar. This tool lets you view the fares for an entire month at a glance, helping you zero in on the dates with the cheapest prices. Occasionally, Southwest runs Wanna Get Away sales. For example, Southwest was running a summer sale as I wrote this article, with prices starting at $49. Using the Low Fare Calendar, we found several of these $49 fares from Las Vegas to Los Angeles that translated to just 3,500 Rapid Rewards points (also a Chase transfer partner). Screenshot of Southwest's Low Fare Calendar for LAS to LAX for May with prices ranging from 3,500 to ... More 5,000 points. Forbes Advisor Southwest is also known for offering ultracheap interisland flights in Hawaii. We found a Wanna Get Away ticket from Honolulu (HNL) to Hawaii Island (KOA) that was also just 3,500 Rapid Rewards points. This is an excellent redemption option for travelers looking to hop between islands on a budget. Screenshot of Southwest's Low Fare Calendar for HNL to KOA for May with prices ranging from 3,500 to ... More 6,500 points. Forbes Advisor With the Low Fare Calendar and some flexibility, you can unlock serious value from your Chase Ultimate Rewards points by transferring them to Southwest Rapid Rewards. 3. Don't Forget To Crosscheck Prices and Availability on Chase Travel While many points enthusiasts prefer transferring to travel partners to maximize value, that advantage is often more pronounced on international flights in premium cabins. For domestic flights, the value gap can shrink significantly, especially when you consider that Sapphire Preferred points are always worth 1.25 cents when redeemed for Chase Travel purchases. There may be times when you'd use fewer points booking through Chase Travel than by transferring to an airline. Even if the pricing is close to par, remember that Chase Travel bookings are viewed like normal cash fares, so you won't deal with limited award availability. You can also still generally earn frequent flyer miles when you book through Chase Travel, which isn't the case when you book award flights directly with an airline. Of course, there are trade-offs. If you need to change or cancel your flight, you'll have to go through Chase Travel customer service instead of dealing directly with the airline, which can be a bit more of a hassle. But if your main goal is to stretch your Chase Ultimate Rewards balance as far as it can go, it's worth the extra step to check Chase's portal. Bottom Line With 100,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points, your options for domestic flights are far from limited. Whether you're seeking luxury on a transcontinental route or just trying to get the best deal on a quick getaway, smart redemptions can help you maximize the value of your rewards. Information provided on Forbes Advisor is for educational purposes only. Your financial situation is unique and the products and services we review may not be right for your circumstances. We do not offer financial advice, advisory or brokerage services, nor do we recommend or advise individuals or to buy or sell particular stocks or securities. Performance information may have changed since the time of publication. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Forbes Advisor adheres to strict editorial integrity standards. To the best of our knowledge, all content is accurate as of the date posted, though offers contained herein may no longer be available. The opinions expressed are the author's alone and have not been provided, approved, or otherwise endorsed by our partners .
